Conspiracy Culture : Post-Soviet Paranoia and the Russian Imagination

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Conspiracy Culture : Post-Soviet Paranoia and the Russian Imagination
Description: Contemporary Russia stands apart as one of the most prolific generators of conspiracy theories and paranoid rhetoric. Conspiracy Culture traces the roots of the phenomenon within the sphere of culture and history, examining the long arc of Russian paranoia from the present moment back to earlier nineteenth-century sources, such as Dostoevsky's anti-nihilist novel Demons. Conspiracy Culture examines the use of conspiracy tropes by contemporary Russian authors and filmmakers including the postmodernist writer Viktor Pelevin, the conservative author and pundit Aleksandr Prokhanov, and the popular director Timur Bekmambetov. It also explores paranoia as an instrument within contemporary Russian political rhetoric, as well as in pseudo-historical works. What stands out is the manner in which popular paranoia is utilized to express broadly shared fears not only of a long-standing anti-Russian conspiracy undertaken by the West, but also about the destruction of the country's cultural and spiritual capital within this imagined'Russophobic'plot.
Authors: Keith A. Livers
Resource Type: eBook.
Subjects: Paranoia in literature, Conspiracies in popular culture--Russia (Federation)--History--20th century, Russian fiction--20th century--History and criticism, Conspiracies in literature, Paranoia in popular culture--Russia (Federation)--History--20th century, Conspiracies in popular culture--History--20th century
Categories: LITERARY CRITICISM / Russian & Soviet, HISTORY / Russia / General, PERFORMING ARTS / Film / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies
Database: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)
Description
Abstract:Contemporary Russia stands apart as one of the most prolific generators of conspiracy theories and paranoid rhetoric. Conspiracy Culture traces the roots of the phenomenon within the sphere of culture and history, examining the long arc of Russian paranoia from the present moment back to earlier nineteenth-century sources, such as Dostoevsky's anti-nihilist novel Demons. Conspiracy Culture examines the use of conspiracy tropes by contemporary Russian authors and filmmakers including the postmodernist writer Viktor Pelevin, the conservative author and pundit Aleksandr Prokhanov, and the popular director Timur Bekmambetov. It also explores paranoia as an instrument within contemporary Russian political rhetoric, as well as in pseudo-historical works. What stands out is the manner in which popular paranoia is utilized to express broadly shared fears not only of a long-standing anti-Russian conspiracy undertaken by the West, but also about the destruction of the country's cultural and spiritual capital within this imagined'Russophobic'plot.
ISBN:9781487507374
9781487536114
9781487536121